Suggest Remedies For Inflammation And Soreness Of The Gums

Posted on Wed, 9 Nov 2016

Question: I have a temporary top denture in my mouth for three years. I have the three front teeth which are my natural teeth and the denture wraps around those teeth. Back in March of this year my gums were sore so I went to see a dentist and he said I had an infection and told me about a bad tooth. I took antibiotics then and everything was fine until about two weeks ago and my gums started to be sore again so I went back to the dentist and he said my gums were irritated again and put me on amoxicillin again and I finished them last Tuesday and I only put the temporary denture in my mouth about four times for only about an hour at a time. Today I didn't put the denture in but my top gums feel irritated still. I press on that bad tooth but there is no pain just irritation. I thought everything would be fine for a few months like what happened last March.
I took 2 extra strength tylenol for the soreness. I want your thoughts about what you think is going on. After taking the antibiotic does it take a while for the gums to feel better so do you think I should just keep the temporary denture out for a few days and maybe the irritation should subside. I have a fear of having a tooth pulled. I don't understand why it feels sore being last time I took the antibiotics everything was okay for about 7 months. Doesn't antibiotics get rid of the infection and then the irritreation would go away? I looked at my top gums and they don't seem inflamed. They are a light red. I have been rinsing with salt water also.

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Antibiotics provide temporary relief, tooth needs treatment..

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome to HEALTHCARE MAGIC..

As per your complain if you have a bad tooth that is causing gum inflammation and soreness then antibiotics can only provide temporary relief to no relief at times if the tooth in subject is not treated either by Root Canal Treatment if it can be saved or extraction if there is gross decay..

Secondly if the gums are irritated in a larger area and not only around the bad tooth then there can be sharp areas on the tissue surface of denture or the denture might be poor fitting that can rub against the gums causing irritation, inflammation and soreness..

So you need a thorough evaluation done for ruling out the exact cause..

As of now you should avoid wearing denture as much as possible..
You can apply numbing gel containing Lignocaine over the sore gums for reducing soreness..
Continue doing warm saline gargle..
Suck ice..

Please write back for further queries..

Regards..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Honey Arora (1 hour later)

Why do you say to suck ice????

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Detailed below..

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome back..

Sucking ice or doing cool compresses helps in reducing inflammation, redness and heat and this helps in reducing pain and swelling..
So it is advisable suck ice to soothe the mucosa that is inflamed..

Hope this helps..

Regards..

Note: Find out which dental treatment will work best for your teeth. Ask here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng